*Morgan Freeman, 70, is looking to stretch his seasoned acting muscles into fresh territory with his new role in Broadway's "The Country Girl," a production of Clifford Odets' 1950 drama, directed by Mike Nichols.      

       After decades of playing such characters as the all-knowing cop, the principal with a heart of gold, the voice-of-reason sidekick and the ultra-cool president, the Academy Award-winner travels to the other end of the spectrum in "The Country Girl" to play an insecure man described as a "bleary bum," reports the AP.        

       Freeman plays Frank Elgin, a stage actor long past his prime who is battling both insecurity and an alcohol problem. When a juicy part in a Broadway-bound play comes along, a battle of sorts breaks out between his long-suffering wife (Francis McDormand) and a producer (Peter Gallagher) banking that Elgin will reclaim his acting chops.

      Freeman, who has twice played God on film, hopes the role will remind fans that he can also play characters with a less than noble core.

       "There's a finite number of characters who are like that before you start repeating yourself ad nauseam. I think that's the bigger danger than being Mr. Gravitas," he says.

"You look at your last work and say, 'That's four characters in a row that said, did, thought, acted the same. They're going to find me out any minute now.'"